Tuesday, January 31, 2017

What It Means To Be A Reactionary

The popular depiction for the word Reactionary gives the definition - an extreme conservative; an opponent of progress or liberalism. A more in-depth amplification is once again found in Wikipedia. “Reactionary (or reactionist) is a political epithet typically applied to extreme ideological conservatism, especially that which wishes to return to a real or imagined old order of things, and which is willing to use coercive means to do so. The term is primarily used as a term of opprobrium (groups rarely identify themselves as reactionary), meant to assert the idea that the opposition is based in merely reflexive politics rather than responsive and informed views. More specifically, the term "reactionary" is frequently used to refer to those who want to reverse (or prevent) some form of claimed "progressive" change. (An equivalent term would be "regressivism." The term reaction is sometimes used as a general term for the program or philosophy of designated reactionaries.)Read the entire essay from the Radical Reactionary archives